To many gamers in the states, the name "Sega Saturn" is synonymous with failure. Financially, that's true. The Saturn's poor sales in caused Sega to lose over $267 million, giving it a distant third-place finish behind the Nintendo 64 and Playstation. Knowing this, it's easy to dismiss the Saturn as a bad console and not give a second thought to buying one. If you've done that, what a mistake you made! The Saturn has a deeper library of games than you'd expect, providing something to like from many different genres.HistoryYou might be thinking, "if the console was that good, then why did it flop?" That's certainly a valid question. The first thing you need to know is that the Saturn was a success in Japan. Believe it or not, it finished second place in console sales there ahead of the Nintendo 64 and only behind the enormously popular Playstation. Its popularity was boosted by an amusing series of commercials featuring "Segata Sanshiro", a Judo master who would beat people up and command them to play Sega Saturn. Another potential reason was the fact that the console's library was much larger in Japan. There were a great many quality Saturn games that English-speaking gamers missed out on. Many games that would normally have been localized outside Japan didn't make it because the console was selling so poorly in those locations. The main reason for the Saturn's failure outside Japan was a snowball effect started by the console's disastrous launch.Both the Saturn and Playstation hit Japanese shelves in late 1994. As 1995 rolled around, gamers eagerly awaited the next generation that was to be brought upon them in September. Sega pinpointed Saturday, September 2 as "Saturnday" to introduce their new console. However, when E3 rolled around in May, Sega's president Tom Kalinske shocked the gaming world by announcing that the console was to be released immediately. These words doomed the console from day one. Nobody was prepared for such an impulsive move, including all of the third-party developers. Sega almost exclusively provided the Saturn's early selection of games, which lacked that one "killer title" that most consoles have at launch to draw in consumers. Sure, the Saturn had a few solid games like Virtua Cop, Panzer Dragoon, Daytona USA, and various sports titles, but nothing that was going to make consumers forget about the looming Playstation. The worst part about the launch was the daunting $400 price tag. Sony took advantage of it, announcing that their new console would retail for only $300. When the Playstation launched, it almost immediately equaled the sales that the Saturn had accumulated in the previous four months. Sega had made a blunder that they could not recover from.Although poor sales overseas prevented many quality titles from leaving Japan, the Saturn's English library turned out to be surprisingly decent. Several good-to-great Saturn games were released in the US after it had been made clear that the console was on its way out. For example, Sega's last four Saturn games in the US were Burning Rangers, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Shining Force III, and The House of the Dead. Had those titles been available early in the console's life, they could have made it a serious contender.HardwareIn terms of hardware, the Saturn was slightly inferior to the Playstation and Nintendo 64 in terms of 3D graphics, and far inferior to the Playstation when it came to FMVs. On top of that, it was rather difficult to program for, which likely alienated some developers. What you probably don't know is that the Saturn towered over its competition in terms of 2D capability. As if the console wasn't powerful enough, several games took advantage of a RAM cart or an Action Replay to beef it up even more. Some fighting games can't be played without additional RAM, much like Donkey Kong 64 required the Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak. If a 2D arcade game was ported onto both the Playstation and Saturn, the Playstation version was likely to have longer loading times, fewer frames of animation, slowdown, or a combination of the three. The most obvious example of the Saturn's 2D prowess is X-Men vs. Street Fighter. When the game was ported to the Playstation, it was a shell of the original arcade version. The tag team feature that helped make the game appealing was removed because the console simply couldn't handle it. With the absence of a tag team feature, you'd think that you'd at least be left with a smooth-looking, smooth-playing fighter. Nope, you still get a slowdown-riddled game with choppy animation. The Saturn port, on the other hand, is just like the arcade original with the mere presence of a little extra loading time. The Playstation port of Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter isn't quite as bad, but it still doesn't hold a candle to its Saturn coutnerpart. Some Saturn-Playstation comparisons aren't so lopsided; the Street Fighter games were ported quite well onto the Playstation, but the Saturn versions at the very least had noticeably faster loading times.ControllersOne thing I love about the Saturn is this controller:
That d-pad is as comfortable as they come. It's far smoother than most other d-pads you've used, and it's very responsive. That, along with the six-face-button layout, certainly makes it appear that Sega had fighting games in mind when they made this thing. Even if you're not into fighters, it's still a very comfortable controller. As you'll see in this picture, there are grooves in the back of it to rest your middle fingers comfortably while playing.
There was also an analog controller that was created primarily for NiGHTs Into Dreams..., and it bears a resemblance to the Dreamcast controller. However, I have never used one, so I cannot provide an opinion on it.GamesWhile you certainly will have a good time with the Saturn's best American games, you won't get the most out of it unless you start importing. Luckily, this isn't a big deal. All you need to play foreign Saturn games is an Action Replay or a Memory Card Plus, preferably the former. There are quite a few games, mostly shmups and 2D fighters, that have little-to-no language barrier. Additionally, a few quality games were localized in the UK but not the US, and vice-versa. Just note that if you have a European Saturn, it takes a little more than just an Action Replay to properly play imported games. Since I have no experience with European consoles, I won't be covering that issue in this article.Probably the Saturn's greatest strength lies in its excellent lineup of shmups. If you played a game like Deathsmiles or Ikaruga and enjoyed it, you absolutely should consider buying a Saturn. The most notable Saturn exclusive is the game widely regarded as the Holy Grail of shmups: Treasure's Radiant Silvergun, which frequently sells for over $150 on eBay. It won't be an exclusive for long, though, since the game is coming next year to Xbox Live Arcade. It has yet to be confirmed whether or not it will have all the features of the Saturn version, though. Many different series of shmups saw at least one entry on the Saturn. Konami released four "Deluxe Packs" for the Saturn, each of which contained two games from their four shmup series: Gradius, Parodius, Twinbee, and Salamander. These "Deluxe Packs" were also released on the Playstation, but the Saturn versions are the better way to go because they're cheaper, and because the console is more import-friendly. The other two Parodius gamesthe Saturn, Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius and Sexy Parodius, are also excellent games. There are literally a few dozen others to pick from, including Soukyugurentai Otokuyo, Batsugun, Battle Garegga, Shienryu, Cotton 2, Cotton Boomerang, and Gunbird. Because shmups have never been great sellers in the US, none of those aforementioned games were released here. The good news is that most of them have little-to-no language barrier, and often have menu screens in English. Two 3D rail shooters that did make it to US shores are Panzer Dragoon and Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei. The former has very simplistic gameplay and feels dated by today's standards, but the latter is a much more polished game and has stood the test of time well.Fighting games are abundant in the Saturn's library. Every significant series of 2D fighters I can think of had an outing on the Saturn. Street Fighter? Check. King of Fighters? Check. Darkstalkers? Check. Mortal Kombat? Check. Samurai Shodown? Check. World Heroes? Check. Because the console was such a 2D powerhouse, these ports were almost always faithful to their arcade counterparts. Also on the Saturn are some more obscure fighters that are certainly worth a look for fans of the genre, such as the Astra Superstars, Waku Waku 7, Golden Axe: The Duel, and Dark Legend. The list of 3D fighters for the console isn't as huge, but it's nothing to sneeze at. The best-selling game on the console was a superb arcade port of Virtua Fighter 2. Sega developed another game with a similar gameplay style called Fighting Vipers. A crossover fighter featuring characters from those two games called Fighters Megamix followed, and it's probably the best 3D fighter on the console. The Saturn is also home to Last Bronx and Final Fight Revenge. There's no question about it; if you love fighting games, you must own a Saturn.The Saturn has at least a couple quality games that fall into each of the many subcategories of the broad term "RPG". If you're looking for a turn-based Japanese-style RPG, you ought to pick up Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean and Shining the Holy Ark. If you enjoyed Grandia on the Playstation, you should consider importing the Saturn-exclusive Grandia Digital Museum. This game is loaded with bonus material relating to the original game which must be unlocked by exploring and fighting through four very difficult dungeons. One of the Saturn's most coveted and highly-praised exclusive games is Panzer Dragoon Saga, which often sells for over $200 online. Whether or not it's worth that price is debatable, since the game is short and not without flaws, but there's certainly no RPG out there quite like it. If you like "action RPGs", try Magic Knight Rayearth, Legend of Oasis, Dark Savior, and Shining Wisdom. The Saturn has a nice showing of "strategy RPGs" with games like FEDA Remake: The Emblem of Justice,Wachenroder, Dragon Force, and Mystaria: The Realms of Lore (which got re-released under the name Blazing Heroes). Oh yeah, and let's not forget the Shining Force III trilogy. That's one of the greatest video game experiences I've had the privilege to enjoy. I wanted to write a paragraph about it in this article, but I can't do it proper justice with such a small number of sentences.If you dig survival horror games, there are a few Saturn games that might make the console worth a purchase for you. Sega released a Saturn exclusive called Deep Fear, which never released American shores but did see the light of day in Europe. The game plays similar to Resident Evil, but the main catch here is that you're trapped underwater and you have to replenish your oxygen from time to time. The storyline and music are both well done. Speaking of Resident Evil, the Saturn had a port of the original game which featured the unlockable "battle mode". In this mode, the objective is to kill all the enemies with a limited amount of ammo. Another game that may be worth your time is Enemy Zero.The Saturn doesn't really have a "killer" platformer that would rival those of Nintendo, but it certainly has some good ones. Keio Flying Squadron 2 is a solid, challening game with a great sense of humor. Mr. Bones and Clockwork Knight 2 are decent Saturn exclusives. I personally didn't care for Astal, but many other Saturn gamers did. Earthworm Jim 2 was remade on the Saturn with a CD-quality soundtrack. Since Mega Man 8 was originally designed for the Saturn, it's no surprise that it's the superior version of the game, and it also includes two exclusive optional bosses. For some reason, Capcom used the inferior Playstation version of the game for the Mega Man Anniversary Collection, so the original Saturn version is still king. While Mega Man X4 on the Saturn is slightly inferior to it's Playstation counterpart in some ways, it's worth noting that the background music in this version loops instead of ending and starting over. Also on the Saturn is a port of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night which introduces Maria as a playable character and has new levels, bosses, and weapons. The Playstation original is superior overall, but hardcore fans of that version might enjoy this extra content.Fans of the Bomberman series who got a chance to play Saturn Bomberman will often claim that it's the best game in the series. The game featured netlink (online) play which still works, and if you have two multitaps, you can play with up to 10 players locally! Speaking of multitaps, another Saturn game to utilize them was Criminal case hack for android. This game is a beat 'em up with some RPG elements made by Treasure, the same company that brought us Gunstar Heroes for the Sega Genesis. The versus mode in this game allows up to six players, making for some crazy battles.One of the most famous Saturn games is NiGHTs Into Dreams..., which I didn't mention in the above paragraphs because it doesn't clearly belong to a genre. It's difficult to do the game justice by describing it with words. Just know this: it has over 30 reviews on Gamefaqs. One person gave it a 7/10, and every other score it received was higher than that. Sega did release a remake of this game on the Playstation 2, but only in Japan.ConclusionIf you thought before today that the Saturn was a pathetic console, I do hope that I've changed your mind. Any gamer who doesn't need next-gen graphics to have a blast with a video game should be able to find something to love on this gem of a system. After some bidding on eBay, you should be able to land one of your own with the hookups and a controller for as low as $35 including shipping. If you do, be happy that you'll get to experience Sega's most underappreciated contribution to the world of gaming.
